A Day at Yoshiwara
by BeyondMyReach
Summary: Most of the time, they're friends. Occasionally, they would be at the edge of something more. Set in a world where Keiko works at a brothel and Yusuke protects. Slight Yusuke/Keiko


Yusuke patrolled through the brothel, eyes and ears opened for any signs of alarm that signaled one of their own needed help. Sometimes, it was when a patron went too far with the BMS and sometimes, it was when a patron attempted to do more than he/she paid for. Luckily, nothing particularly out of norm occurred, besides the few people who he needed to manhandle out for refusing to leave when it was past their time.

"I have the money," the guy hissed as he was tugged non-too-gently through the door. Keiko gave Yusuke a thankful smile right before Yusuke closed the door. He rolled his eyes at what the guy said and his stubbornness. Typical of a spoiled brat to think money was everything.

"Duly noted," Yusuke said, yawning. What he really wanted to say was 'no, fuck, captain obvious,' but just because Yusuke was in charge of taking care of unruly patrons didn't mean he could be _too_ rude of any of the bastards. After all, most of their patrons came from some high profile background and Mukuro wouldn't want Yusuke making enemies out of them. "Even rich guys needa follow the rule though. Yukimaru is already reserved so you can't stay overtime with her. Come back another time."

The guy hissed in annoyance and tried for the door, but Yusuke wasn't a guard for the brothel four years running for nothing. He grabbed the guy by the scuff of his neck before he could disturb Keiko and placed himself between the patron and the door. He glared. "I warned you," Yusuke said, his voice holding no room argument.

Keiko-crazed-guy glared at Yusuke, but withered all too quickly when he met Yusuke's hard eyes. Throwing a fit, the guy pushed Yusuke's hand away and stalked away with as much dignity as he could muster. Yusuke scoffed lowly, knowing the guy probably held a grudge against him now. With a shrug, Yusuke turned away. Keiko-crazed-guy wouldn't be the first or the last, he knew.

Yusuke pushed the door to Keiko's room opened. "He's gone now," Yusuke said, poking his head in.

"I realized," Keiko said, turning to look at him. She smiled. "Thank you, Yusuke."

"Nah," Yusuke said. "Just doing my job. He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"

Keiko shook her head. "No. He just wouldn't leave when I reminded him several of times it was about time."

Yusuke nodded, knowing that wasn't all that uncommon. "Ok. I don't need Mitarai to blacklist him then."

"Oh, Yusuke, it's not that bad."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "Doncha think I forgot. This is the fifth time he refused to leave. His obsession is getting worse and worse."

Keiko hesitated at the reminder, knowing just as he did that obsessed patrons were also possessive patrons who think they owe whatever girl/guy they were seeing. They turn crazy often, so deeply taken in by the whores' sweet words of promise and eternal love. "I won't honey my words too much with him then," Keiko finally decided. "I wouldn't want him to fall any deeper, after all."

Yusuke nodded. "Good," he said. His eyes then took in Keiko's, although still beautiful, tired profile. He moved up to her. "Want a massage?" he asked, setting his jitte down on the table.

Keiko nodded at him gratefully and dropped the yutaka draped around her shoulders, revealing the pale, bare skin beneath. Yusuke remained calm despite it all and opened the container of the massage oil. He was raised in a brothel and was used to seeing bare skin, after all.

Dipping his hand into the container, he turned back to Keiko to see she was already lying on her stomach. Yusuke used his hand free of oil to drape her yukata on the lower part of her body, before he began massaging. Keiko soon fell asleep under his ministration and her exhaustion.

She woke up twenty minutes later to find Yusuke still working on the knots of muscles and felt a blush slowly squirm its way up to her face, not because of her nakedness, but the fact that she let Yusuke go out of his way to do so much for her. From wealthy clients, who only wanted her body, she could readily accept with a feigned look of modest surprise. Not from her friends.

Yusuke gave her a grin when he noticed she woke up. "Hey, Keiko," he said casually. "Feeling better now?"

Keiko sat up, noting how much lighter her body felt after having much of her tenseness rubbed out of her body. "Yes," she replied and thought that he probably got so skilled by massaging his mother after a tiring day. It didn't make her feel any less in debt. "I'm sorry, Yusuke. I didn't mean to keep you up."

Yusuke frowned, before finally dismissing it with a shrug. "You know I don't do anything that I don't want to, Keiko. Stop looking at me like you owe me," he said, hitting bullseye. He leaned down and kissed Keiko right on the lips; his lips curled up to a grin against hers, before he pulled back. "That's my payment," he said. "That, and getting to _intimately _touch one of our top girls for free." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, getting a genuine laugh out of Keiko. The rest of her tenseness melted away.

Keiko shifted up so her body was parallel to Yusuke's and she was kneeling on her bed. She brought her own hands up and drew Yusuke closer to her stark body. Their lips met again and Yusuke, after a moment of stillness, gently coaxed Keiko's mouth open. Keiko responded by complying to Yusuke's silent wish, thankful that he understood hers.

Their lips and tongues moved against each others for a long while, unhurriedly brushing past the others again and again as though they had all the time in the world. Desire stirred within Keiko, something that was quite rare considering her unwanted line of work. Against Keiko's bare body, which was pressed flush against Yusuke's, Keiko could feel Yusuke's physical reaction.

His eyes, a warm shade of chocolate brown, remained calm the entire encounter, however.

Finally, Keiko unlatched her mouth from Yusuke's, ending what she started. Her lips tingled pleasantly from their recent excursion and well-trained eyes noted the way Yusuke's breathing was slightly labored. Again, only physical reaction.

"Come on," Keiko finally said, drawing up her yukata to cover up her body when Yusuke made no move to continue what was started. "Let's get your hair fixed before I need to meet my next client."

At the mention of his hair, Yusuke blinked and brough his hand to the crown of his head, twining his fingers into his hair. He combed downward, all the way to the end, which stopped at the midsection of his back. "It's fine," he said when he encountered only a few knots. He looked at her as he said the words, and Keiko could hear the double meaning behind it.

She shook her head and held her hand out, beckoning Yusuke. Although Yusuke didn't mean for it to happen at all, Keiko couldn't stand being in anyone's debt. That, after all, was what led her to her current predicament.

With a sigh and a look that said 'you really don't have to do this,' Yusuke seated himself in front of Keiko's makeup table. He let Keiko comb his long hair until it was glossy and until Keiko felt the imaginary burden of debt lifted from her soul. When he could clearly see that, he gently caught Keiko's hand, stilling it and stood. Leaning into her, Yusuke planted a kiss onto Keiko's cheek and smiled for her sake.

"Well," he said after a long moment. He ambled to the table in the middle of the room and took his jitte. "I'm gonna get going. Who knows how many people are raping our lovely girls and guys while I'm here romancing away."

Some darkness faded away from Keiko's eyes as she shook her head at Yusuke's morbid joke. "Go on then," she said.

Yusuke gave her one final look, before turning to leave._  
_

_In another world, under another circumstance, _they thought as the door closed, _they might have been together._

* * *

Jitte is a weapon police in Japan use during the Edo period. The fact that Yusuke has it does not symbolize anything, except maybe that he helps enforce the rules in the brothel. He is not a police. It's just a whim of mine to let Yusuke have a jitte.

This is an one-shot and this is complete. Thanks for reading!


End file.
